Many players, of all levels, use their chess study time to concentrate almost exclusively on the openings. Very few players spend much time at all studying endgames and this is almost certainly a mistake. Making a poor move in the opening might leave you with a slightly uncomfortable position. Making a poor move in the endgame can easily transform a win into a draw or even a loss.

If you want to make any sort of serious progress at chess it is vital to understand fundamental endgame play. Having an instinctive understanding of which positions are winning, drawing and losing is essential as it enables you to plan your endgame strategies with great confidence, knowing that you are heading for positions that are favourable to you.

In this book, Cyrus Lakdawala analyses all the fundamental endgame positions and carefully explains the methods needed to win the favourable ones and draw the unfavourable ones.

First Steps is a new series and is ideal for improving players who want simple and straightforward explanations. First Steps emphasizes:

* the basic principles* the basic strategies* the key tricks and traps